Monica Potts

Recent Articles

Bloggers and columnists , in the flurry of predictions that come at the start of any new year, are wondering how we'll consume media in 2010. What will be the new Twitter? Will any of it will be enough to save old media outlets? These questions are important, but it's worth remembering that in a vast swath of the United States, residents often don't even have access to sites like Twitter. About two-thirds of Americans have access to broadband Internet in their homes, but in rural areas fewer than 40 percent do, according to a 2008 Pew survey . While the number of rural Americans getting access to Internet connections fast enough to truly consume media online is growing, 15 percent of dial-up users in rural areas said there was no broadband service available to which they could make the switch. More than a third said the price of broadband would have to fall. The same survey says those who are not online are more than twice as likely to be low-income. The stimulus package set aside $7...